


would you be so kind as to fall in love with me?

by reyisvalid



Series: fall in love with me [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute Will Solace, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Dorks, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Oblivious Nico di Angelo, Soft Boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26591125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyisvalid/pseuds/reyisvalid
Summary: Nico di Angelo can't stop sleep shadowtraveling to Will Solaces's bed and it's becoming a problem.Based off a headcanon that Nico sometimes shadowtravels in his sleep.Title is from a dodie song.~~~~~~~~~Nico woke up feeling incredibly warm, but it was a welcome warmth and he snuggled closer to the heat source before realizing that something felt incredibly wrong.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: fall in love with me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016491
Comments: 56
Kudos: 609





	1. i have a question

Nico woke up feeling incredibly warm, but it was a welcome warmth and he snuggled closer to the heat source before realizing that something felt incredibly wrong.

The Hades Cabin was notoriously cold with a temperature rivaling that of the Arctic Sea and unless he suddenly obtained a heated blanket made out of hard muscle and flesh that suspiciously smelled like the camp infirmary, he shouldn’t be this warm.

There was a tiny pit of dread in his stomach that made him want to keep his eyes closed forever, but he knew he would immensely regret it later. So he peeped his right eye open which proved to be a huge mistake because he was met with Will Solace's ostentatiously and stupidly beautiful face.

Perhaps, Nico should’ve first questioned how exactly he got here, but instead his first question was how stupid Solace could look so stupidly good at the ass crack of dawn. Which quickly led to the question of why it affected Nico so much, and in all honesty it was a question that Nico had been putting off answering for a long time. Why _did_ Will Solace affect him so much? And that was a question too complex for his muggy brain to comprehend. He had more pressing issues to tend to, most importantly of which being how the hell does he get out of here?

Nico sighed as he looked around, trying not to squirm as he twisted around in Will’s death bear grip. He needed a plan.  
Okay, he was in the Apollo Cabin, okay, everyone else was still asleep, okay that's good. He took a deep breath, he could still leave without anyone noticing.  
Okay, he was in Will Solace’s bed, which was a nice kind of okay, but also not so good cause he was trapped in said Solace’s arms and lacked significant strength to skillfully release himself from.  
He turned around again, so that he was facing Will before his eyes darted downwards and... oh. Oh. Oh my god he’s shirtless. Okay, that's really not good.

Nico’s eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his skull and he quickly looked away. Oh my god, he was such a fucking creep. He was ogling at a half-naked sleeping person, hades, this was so wrong on so many levels. He groaned why is it always him who gets stuck in the most awkward situations?

He sighed, reaching up to run a hand through this hair, considering his options. Okay, so he could a) try to escape from Will’s death grip and risk waking him and possibly the whole Apollo Cabin up, in which case he would absolutely die of mortification b) simply wake the giant oaf up and politely ask him to let Nico go, and if he wasn’t completely horrified by Nico and if Nico wasn’t dead from the previous possibility of mortification maybe, they could uh...still be friends..?

  
He gritted his teeth, really there was only one option which didn’t involve dying of some kind and it was definitely still a risky one. He winced, Will would absolutely kill him if he found out, but he had no options. He had to shadow travel out.

Now maybe the Fates weren’t completely cruel, because the window by Will’s cot was thankfully shielded by blue curtains and the small wooden nightstand to Nico’s right cast just enough shadow for Nico to shadow travel. He sighed, Will wasn’t going to be happy with him.

___________

When he was back in his all too familiar and Will-Solace-less bed in the Hades Cabin he felt confused. Not just because of his tangled mess of emotions he felt for the stupidly attractive Apollo boy, but rather because of a much larger matter: how does one simply end up in someone else's bed. The same way every time something strange and possibly embarrassing happened at camp. The Stolls.

  
He groaned trying to think why they’d be pissed off at him, but he kept drawing blanks. After hearing their great misadventures from many other campers, Nico had done his best to avoid them. Still, maybe they were just out to annoy anyone and he happened to be an unlucky bastard which could very well be a possibility considering his aforementioned unlucky tendencies.  
He snuggled into his dark sheets, he was going to deal with them... right after a short nap.

  
___________

When Nico woke up again he was not met with Will Solace (unfortunately, cough) instead he was met with Percy Jackson, which may have not been as quite disappointing for 11-year old Nico. But, Nico was a teenager now and he was moody, constantly hungry and in desperate lack of sleep. Besides, the whole Percy ship sailed long ago.  
He groaned, “What do you want?”

“It’s midday dude, get up.”

Nico made a noncommittal noise and rolled into a blanket burrito.

“Come on, we have sword training now. You’ve already slept through breakfast,” he said poking Nico’s rib.  
Nico rolled further away.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t want to have to do this.” He took a deep breath, “don’t make me call Will.”

Nico sighed, sitting up his blanket still wrapped around himself. “I’m not scared of Will,” he retorted.

“Sure..” Percy said hand on his hip.

“I’m not!”

“Alright whatever you say, Nicoo. Meet me in the arena in five,” he said, the door to the Hades Cabin shutting close as he left.

Nico groaned as he peeled himself off his bed, suddenly seeing stars as he stood up. He clutched his bed frame and forced himself upright, blinking rapidly. He didn’t think that the shadow travel effects would be catching up with him so quickly.

He took a sip of water and sat back down, he could just be dehydrated he reasoned with himself. Still, it would be best to avoid Solace today. He was too skilled of a healer to not figure out if something was up. And, something was definitely up.

_You woke up in his bed, while he was half-naked_ , his brain helpfully reminded him. Nico felt his cheeks burn and shook his head, he definitely couldn’t see Will today.  
Besides, he had sword training and Stoll-ass-kicking scheduled for the day.

___________

“Tell me what you did,” Nico growled, raising a skeleton behind him.

“Du-dude, I swear we didn’t do-do anything!” Travis said, gulping nervously.

“Besides, we don’t even know what you're talking about!” Connor said.

Nico paused for a moment, they did seem innocent and rightfully afraid. He sighed, dismissing the skeleton. “If I find out that you’re lying, you’re dead. And I mean it,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

And in a mess of yeses and of courses they stumbled away. Nico gritted his teeth and considered his options. No one else in camp was acting suspiciously and really the Stolls were the only ones who could pull off such an elaborate prank smoothly, but they seemed genuinely confused and terrified.

He took a deep breath as he sunk into the ground. Summoning skeletons usually didn’t take a lot out of him, but after the shadow travel this morning, his body felt weak. It wasn’t much of a distance between Cabin 13 and 7, but he felt exhausted.  
He paused, what if… he traveled the same distance twice? That would make his exhaustion more sensicial.

  
He didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed like the most viable possibility. He was sleep shadow traveling.


	2. i kinda like it though

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sighed, he liked Will. He smiled, a bitter smile, he liked Will; how could he not?

Nico was back in his cabin after successfully avoiding Solace through dinner and the campfire. Well, maybe not so successfully, because he did make accidental eye-contact at the campfire and Solace shot him a death glare that would’ve made even his dad quiver. And, of course Nico did what anyone else met with an angry Apollo boy would do; he ran for his life and shut his cabin door closed. So, all in all it was not very successful, because Will was probably chasing him down now.

And as if on cue, he heard Will’s thundering footsteps and honestly, he was terrified.

“NICO DI ANGELO!” he boomed outside the door that Nico was desperately trying to hold shut. Why didn’t anyone consider locks when they were making the cabins?

Unfortunately, even though Nico was quite strong, all of his 5’ft 5’inches was no match for the 6’ft of muscle on the other side of the door. So, when Will gave the door one final nudge he went flying in the other direction.

“Owww,” he wailed as he knocked his elbow into the side of his bed frame.

“Nico? Where are-” Will ran over to him. “Oh my stars, are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” he groaned, sitting up. 

“I’m so, so, sorry,” Will gushed as he crouched near Nico. He tilted Nico’s head to the side, examining him. 

He was so close to Nico that he could feel Will’s exhales on the side of his cheek, if he leaned in any closer Nico could probably feel his eyelashes brush against his face and maybe if he leaned in even closer than that maybe Nico could feel his soft lips-

And oh, Will was saying something. Nico shook his head trying not to think about Will and his closeness.

“Oh, so are you saying you aren’t trying to avoid me?” Will demanded pulling away from Nico, which was slightly disappointing.

“Ahh, no?”

“Really? I haven’t seen you all day, and you closed the door and are- are you mad at me?” 

“What? No! I uh- I was just busy.”

Will frowned. “You look really tired Nico,” he said as he brushed his thumb along the shadows underneath Nico’s eyes. Why did Solace have a constant need to touch him and why didn’t Nico mind?

Nico looked away and Will dropped his hand.

“I uh.. I have to go, but if there’s something wrong. You can tell me you know. You can trust me, Nico.” Will’s brow furrowed like it did everytime he really meant something and Nico wondered why he knew that.

Nico nodded not sure what else to say. 

Will stood up, “Good night, Death Boy,” he said, closing the door. 

And Nico was alone again. Well, alone with his undeniable feelings for Will Solace. He sighed, he liked Will. He smiled, a bitter smile, he liked Will; how could he not? 

Nico liked his stupid puns and his cheeky smile. Nico liked his stubborn blond curls and his freckles; that this morning revealed were quite literally everywhere, he coughed, trying not to think of a naked Will Solace. 

Of course he liked Will Solace, like- liked, as in more than a friend, because who couldn’t like-like Will Solace?

But Nico wasn’t like Will. He wasn’t _likeable_.

He groaned as he stood up, shaking off the thoughts of Will Solace.

_It really was a lost cause_ , he crawled into his bed. _It was a pointless endeavor that would eventually lead to heartbreak_ , he said a quick prayer to his Dad. _Will Solace probably didn’t even like guys,_ he adjusted his pillows. Still as he felt himself fall into a probable night of restless sleep, his mind drifted to Will Solace. 

___________

He was warm. Nico groaned. He didn’t want to get up, he was wrapped in a cocoon of softness and muscle and Will Solace. But, he had to leave before Will- unless he was already... 

Nico’s eyes flew open, and he sighed in relief when he found Will’s eyes still closed. He was also (unfortunately) wearing a t-shirt and looked unfairly adorable with rumpled bed-hair and pillow creases on his cheek.

He had gotten lucky, but he didn’t want to test the Fates any longer than he had to. He reluctantly rolled over, inching towards the shadows. And plunged into the cold darkness.

When he stepped into the Hades Cabin Nico nearly doubled over in pain. White spots danced in his vision and it felt like his organs were being twisted around. He gasped as he clutched to the nearest headboard and lowered himself down to the plush carpet.

This was no good, he didn’t know how much longer he could keep it up. But, he’d rather die than tell Will what was going on. He had no choice, but to avoid Solace again.

___________

Avoiding Will was surprisingly less difficult today, he spent most of the day in the sword-training arena like yesterday and when he couldn’t find anything else to do he hid in the strawberry fields. 

Will seemed less keen on hunting him down today and he was noticeably less angry when Nico opted to sit alone at the Hades’ table at dinner again.

In fact he just looked tired and maybe a little upset, Nico vaguely wondered if something was wrong in the infirmary and then felt guilty for not helping out over the last two days. He just had to figure out this whole shadow traveling-thing then he could go back to pining over- ahem helping Will in the infirmary. 

He moved some more food around his plate, mashed potatoes were really not his thing.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stood up. His body felt weighed down by bricks, maybe he should’ve skipped out on the training today; but he couldn’t risk increasing Will’s suspicions. He sighed again, he’d better skip out on the campfire.

Nico sacrificed the rest of his food to his father, hoping that it would help him not sleep-shadow-travel, at this point he was willing to try anything. 

He could feel Will’s eyes follow him as him and out of the corner of his eye, Will frowned. 

Nico shook his head trying to add more bounce to his steps as he walked to his cabin. Trying to fool Will Solace is a lost cause, but damn it Nico was going to try.

___________

Based on his calculations, Nico had about fifteen minutes before Will was going to come in to check on him if Nico had looked a sixth of how he felt. And that would be just enough time to put his plan into action. He had gone through several possibilities while sword-training (which isn’t the safest, because he had almost gotten stabbed at least twice) and he had a few options.

He could tie himself down which would require help and the only person he really trusted was well Solace, and Nico wasn’t about to ask Will to tie him to the bed quite yet (cough). 

He could try to stay awake through the night, which Nico usually wouldn’t bat an eye over, but he felt strangely tired and he didn’t want to test his post shadow-travel exhaustion. This is exactly why he needed a coffee machine. Nico smiled, he could almost hear Will say, _“Nico, you know caffeine is addictive and it’s detrimental to a growing body.”_

Nico sighed, back to the plan, he just needed to make sure he didn’t shadow travel, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t sleep. And he couldn’t shadow-travel without shadows.

After ten minutes of him unsuccessfully trying to push his ugly coffin bed towards the window, Will arrived. Three minutes before Nico had anticipated, not bad.

“Umm… Nico? Is everything alright?” he said walking in, because Will had an annoying habit of not knocking.

“Yep. Why?”

“Aaaa, do you- do you need help?”

Nico scowled, “No.”

And of course Will didn’t listen, because he wouldn’t be Will Solace if he did. Instead, he stood next to Nico and helped him move his stupid bed over two feet.

“So why are you rearranging?” he said rocking back on his feet.

“I just needed a change,” Nico muttered looking away.

Will sighed, “I just came in to check on you, again. I know it’s annoying, but you looked really tired and I dunno something feels off?” “If somethings wrong, tell someone. It doesn’t have to be me-”

“Solace. I’m fine,” Nico said, gesturing vaguely to the door, hoping he’d get the hint.

Will nodded, “I know, I know. I just um- guess I’m being paranoid again.” He cleared his throat awkwardly and gestured towards the door.

Nico silently nodded, a strange feeling of guilt eating up inside of him. 

He took a deep breath throwing open his curtains, so the moonlight shone directly on his bed. No shadows, no shadow travel. It had to work.

___________

It did not work. Nico was promptly back in Will Solace’s annoyingly comforting arms. He sighed, at this point he didn’t even care about being stealthy; he was too tired and too warm to _want_ to leave.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and Will was still asleep, he didn’t think he could get that lucky three times in a row, maybe the Fates weren’t so cruel after all. His arms were still firmly wrapped around Nico, but Nico had gotten over the cuteness of a clingy Will Solace, now it was just an inconvenience in the newly established routine. He sighed, he had to figure a way out of this he thought, before shadowing traveling out for the third time.

When he was back in the Hades’s Cabin all he could register was pain, burning searing pain unlike anything he had ever experienced before. And then there was nothing at all. He felt himself fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i finally put up chapter two! in case you didn't know, i usually update on mondays/tuesdays (i say usually cause high school sucks). 
> 
> anyways, i hoped you enjoyed it and as always constructive criticism is welcome.
> 
> toodles!!


	3. do me a favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As soon as Nico opened his eyes, he wanted to close them again. He was met with angry blue eyes and an adorably angry face hovering over him.

Nico heard vague humming noises and the steady beeping of a monitor. His stomach sank, he was in the infirmary. He could feel himself move, but then he felt himself falling into darkness again.

___________

As soon as Nico opened his eyes, he wanted to close them again. He was met with  _ angry _ blue eyes and an adorably  _ angry _ face hovering over him.

“Hi?” he croaked.

“Hi?! Are you FUCKING kidding me right now, Nico?” Will’s eyes were rimmed with red and his cheeks were tear-stained. He looked drained, like he hadn’t slept for days.

Nico felt like someone sucker punched all the air out of him. He winced. “I- I can explain.”

“Really, I hope you have a  _ fucking _ good answer for why you are shadowtraveling Nicolas di Angelo!”

“Actually it’s just Nico.”

Will made angry sputtering noises, before yelling “I, I will call you whatever I fucking please, di Angelo!” 

Nico vaguely wondered what happened to the polite Southern boy who tutted when people said “hell” and if it was too late to get him back.

“Will- I’m sorry, but-”

“Do- do you have any idea how worried I was?” Will’s voice broke.

“I-”

“No. Listen. Do you have any idea what it was like to find you passed out? Do you know what it’s like to sit by your bed for two whole days not knowing if you were  _ ever _ going to wake up?” Will was crying now, thin streams of tears rolling down his cheeks. He’d never seen Will cry before, and he never wanted to see it again. Will angrily wiped at his eyes and sank into the chair beside Nico’s cot.

“I- I didn’t know that it had been that long,” Nico said softly. Hesitantly, he reached towards Will, so that their hands brushed against each other. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” his fingers shakily twined around Will’s.

Will nodded, “I didn’t mean to yell at you, I was just so terrified. I thought- I thought-”

“I’m okay.”

“I thought you were going to die, Nico. It’s not okay,” Will’s brow furrowed, he gently pulled away. A moment of silence passed and Will handed him a glass of water. 

Nico reached out his arms heavy and shaking, he didn’t realize how many tubes were stuck inside him. His stomach twisted, no wonder Will was so upset. His eyes darted to Will and quickly looked away as he took a sip of his water. 

“Why were you shadow traveling?”

Nico swallowed. He knew this was an inevitable question, but he thought he had more time to prepare. He sighed. “I just- I needed to do uh… run some errands for my father.”

“You’re a bullshit liar, Nico,” Will shook his head. “ _ Nico _ , why were you shadow traveling?”

“I told you-”

Will shook his head, standing up. “You better have a good fucking reason for almost killing yourself and not telling me,” he said, almost quietly. Quiet Will was scarier than yelly-Will.

He paused and when Nico didn’t say anything else, he picked up his clipboard. “Kayla’s on her way to watch over you. Try to get some rest.”

Nico watched him walk away and cursed himself for getting himself stuck into this situation. He cursed the Fates and their cruel sense of humor. He cursed Will for caring so much. And then he went to sleep, because he ran out of curses.

___________

He didn’t know how long it had been, but when he woke up again he had been moved to another bed and there weren’t any tubes winded around him. Nico sighed in relief, he felt more human already.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Here you need to eat something,” Kayla said, placing a tray jam-packed with food that was undoubtedly Will’s doing.

He muttered out a thanks, before diving in. Apparently, two whole days without eating made even Nico di Angelo hungry for food. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked, sitting slouching on the chair next to him.

“Better.”

She nodded, “That’s good, really good.” She paused, flipping her green hair over her shoulder. “You know Nico, you can tell us- I mean me, if something’s wrong.”

Nico put his sandwich down. “Sure,” he mumbled. Why was he not surprised? 

“So? What’s wrong Nico?”

“Absolutely nothing,” he said, plastering a wide smile on his face.

Kayla snorted, “At least I can tell Will that I fucking tried.” She bounced up, “Let me know if you want more pudding.”

Nico finished the rest of his meal in silence, contemplating if and how to tell Will that he’d spent three mornings in his bed. And damn it, there really was no way to say that and not make it sound creepy. 

He sighed, twiddling his thumbs for a while before deciding to go back to bed. He’d figure out this whole Solace situation when his brain was actually functioning.

___________

There were fingers in his hair. Quick, nimble fingers that were ruffling his hair. He tried to stop a quiet meow escaping from his lips. He failed, but he didn’t care. He heard soft cooing. He was comfortable and warm- wait he was warm. Oh fuck. 

Nico 's eyes flew open and he could feel his face heat up. He tried to move, but he was firmly held down by a fully-conscious Will Solace. Of fucking course.

He groaned silently, settling back in the most dignified manner he could muster. It was hard of course since Nico was draped across in Will’s lap bridal style.

“You’ve been sleep shadow-traveling?” Will half-asked and half-stated. At least that was his first question.

There was no point in denying anything anymore, the least he could do was play it off cool. “Yes. Can I get up now?”

“Not so fast.” Will tightened his grip around Nico’s waist. “I need to get more answers out of you.”

“This feels dehumanizing,” Nico grumbled, still trying to avoid eye contact. He wasn’t in the mood to swoon over Will Solace’s blue eyes.

“Last I checked,  _ you’re _ the one who shadow-traveled here. You may as well extend your stay for a few more minutes.” He narrowed his eyes that were the perfect shade of sky-blue. Damn it.

Nico rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

“Okay, so how long has this been happening?”

“Three days.”

Will’s eyes widened. “And where have you shadow traveled to?”

Nico dissolved into a coughing fit _ , can’t he just die already _ . 

“Well?”

Nico vigorously shook his head. 

“I need to know, Nico. Please.” 

He sighed, he was ready to accept death after this. He’d even be willing to put up with his father if that meant avoiding this whole mess. 

“It’s always the same place.” He took another deep breath and in a really quiet voice he said, “The Apollo cabin.” 

And then he wrestled himself out of Will’s now limp hands and stood up. And then he fucking ran.

“Nico, wait!”

The tips of his ears were burning and he tried to push open the infirmary door. And of course it was locked.

“NICO!” Will had caught up to him now.

“Did-did you lock this door?” Nico asked, breathlessly.

“I figured you’d run,” Will said, hands on his knees.

“Can I just say I’m impressed?” Nico said, as his eyes darted still trying to figure a way out.

“I can help you, Nico. I need a bit of time and I need you to help me okay?” Will slouched into the floor, his back against the door.

Nico sighed, he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t leave Will feeling guilty. They were both stupidly stubborn, and if Will wasn’t giving up, neither could he.

“Okay,” he finally said. 

___________

It was about a day later and he spent the night sedated which was a temporary solution of sorts. It made him feel all groggy, but at least he wasn’t nearly killing himself with each nap. 

He sipped his weird tasting green juice as he watched Will pour over his reading. It wasn’t a bad view.

Will was deep into his research and it hurt Nico too see someone care so much about him. In a lot of ways, Will Solace reminded him of Bianca. They had the same resilience and stupid determination that landed them in bad situations. And Nico was pretty fucking sure that he was the bad situation for Will.

He sighed, moving the sludge around in his glass. He needed something to happen. 

Kayla was that something apparently, because she entered the infirmary just as Nico wished for something interesting. She stopped by Will’s desk and they spoke in whispers as Will probably filled her in on what she missed yesterday. He sighed, apparently not that interesting. And then Kayla dragged Will to the hallaway.

Ooh. He could both hear the incoherently whisper yelling from the hallway. Why were the infirmary walls so thick? Then Nico’s manners caught up to him and he winced. Hades, you couldn’t get creepier than eavesdropping and ogling in the same week. 

A few minutes passby and a red-faced Will appears by Nico’s cot.

“Uh..hello?” Nico says, raising his eyebrows.

“So, you said you’ve only traveled to the Apollo Cabin and then yesterday you traveled to uhh..me right?”

“Right.”

“Well, I was doing all this research, and nothing was really taking me anywhere. But, then Kayla..uh said something.” Will paused, “She said that you might be trying to seek comfort.”

Nico’s felt his cheeks burn. He nodded, unsure what to say,

“So maybe that’s you’re traveling to a healer.” Will sat down in the infamous swivel chair. “Hear me out okay? What if we had a sleepover tonight and I stayed at the Hades Cabin, so that you’d be I dunno closer to a healer?”

“I don’t need a pity sleepover party, Solace,” Nico deadpanned.

“Oh shush, it’ll be fun! I’ll bring over some video games and comics, and oh maybe some snacks?” Will’s eyes lit up for the first time during the past week and Nico felt himself melt a little.

“Fine. But who says the healer had to be you, huh?”

Will rolled his eyes, “Cause were friends, duh? Also you shadow traveled to _me_ yesterday?”

Nico flushed again, fair point. He sighed, “Okay, but what about Chiron?”

“I didn’t know you were so big on rules recently?”   
  


“I’m not, it’s just-”

“Stop making excuses. I’ll ask him at lunch today, it’s for strictly medical purposes anyway,” Will winked like the total dork he was and then practically skipped out of the room.

Nico huffed out a laugh as he smiled, tonight was definitely going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii, i know i said i would update monday/tuesday, but all your nice comments made me want to write faster!! thank you guys so much and yea i hoped you liked it 🥺
> 
> as per usual constructive criticism is always welcome as i am very new to fic writing and this is my first multi-chaptered fic!
> 
> toodles!!


	4. it's only fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you liiike it?” 
> 
> “All things considered it could’ve been worse. I could’ve had to match with you.”
> 
> “Hey! We would have been the cutest.”

Kayla discharged him from the infirmary late that afternoon after lunch and he was finally allowed to go back to his cabin.

He sighed as he swung open his cabin door and finally sunk into his bed. It felt nice to be out of the infirmary even with the lack of cute blonde boys.

Maybe he should clean before Will came over. Nico shakily stood up, still feeling quite woozy from all the sedatives and started.

Like most things, he half-assed it, shoving clothes in drawers and pushing books under his bed. Hands on hips, he looked around. Not bad, as long as Solace wasn’t too nosy, which would be a lot to expect of Will given tendency to snoop.

He scratched his head, now onto the whole bed situation. There were only two hideous coffin beds in the Hades Cabin, Nico’s and, when his sister visited, Hazel’s. They were fairly apart, with Nico’s still facing the lone window and Hazel’s closer to the door.

He frowned, should he push them closer? _No, that would be weird right?_ He shook his head, no he was going to play it cool _again_. Cause that always seems to work.

Nico ran a hand through his hair, looking at his small dresser mirror. It was long and shaggy and he couldn’t remember when he last brushed it. Think of it, he couldn’t remember that last time he showered. He sniffed himself, yup he was definitely going to need a shower.

___________

It was after dinner now and Nico was nervously pacing in front of his bed. He felt unreasonably on edge and was irritated with himself for caring so much. Stupid Solace, making him feel all of these things he couldn’t help.

Will said he’d meet him at the Hades Cabin around 8:30 and it was now 8:25. He sighed, sitting on his bed. He actually did his laundry so his sheets were clean and warm. He did Will a favor and washed Hazel’s dusty sheets too, it’s been a while since she visited anyway.

He probably didn’t deserve to have Hazel as his sister. She was sweet and kind and Iris messaged him every week. Heck, she even wrote him letters with cute pictures glued onto them and Nico kept all of them. He even wrote her back sometimes. He was trying to be better at not pushing people away so much. And if this whole situation with Solace proved anything, it was that he was doing better.

A year ago if this had happened, Nico would have left camp immediately. Now, he was only _thinking_ of leaving camp. It was progress, he mused.

Nico smiled wistfully as he laid back, hands under his head. It was better now, he wasn’t alone anymore. He sighed as warmth fluttered through his body; it had been a long time since he had felt this safe. 

“Aww,” a voice cooed. 

Nico immediately dropped his face into his classic scowl, “Solace.” He propped himself up, “How long have you been here?”

Will was leaning against the cabin door with a cute pout and wet blonde curls. And _oh, my god was that a onesie?_

“Shh, don’t stop smiling. You looked so cute!”

Nico rolled his eyes, fighting to keep down a blush. “Is that a onesie?” he asked, half curious and half desperate.

“Yup, yup, yup. Wait. Wait, guess what I am!” he said gleefully as he walked to the center of the cabin turning around.

Honestly, Nico couldn’t tell. The body of the onesie was white and there were two long beige pieces of fabric connecting his arms and his legs.

“An eagle?”

“No. Oh, wait this might help,” he flipped his hood over his head. There were two eyes and strangely shaped ears?

“Uhh… a mouse?”

“Noo, I’m a flying squirrel!” he grinned a dopey grin, and Nico couldn’t help but offer a small smile in return.

“I can totally see it,” he said. “Why are you dressed as a squirrel though? Aren’t you supposed to do that in October?” Nico was still getting used to all the American mortal traditions and it took a lot of explaining for him to understand Halloween and the whole concept of trick-or-treating.

“Cause it’s a sleepover, duh. And don’t worry I have one for you too!”

“No. Not happening,” he said, shaking his head.

Will quickly stepped out of the cabin and came back with two giant tote backs which he wobbly placed by Nico’s bed frame.

“Yes. Yes, happening. Don’t worry it’s not a flying squirrel. They were all out of those.”

“Wow, I'm devastated.”

Will rolled his eyes, “Close your eyes!”

Nico sighed, “Fine.” He felt something fuzzy and warm placed into his hands. 

“Okay, you can look now”

He was holding a completely black furry pile in his arms. He held it up, and two black ears stuck from the hood. Of course.

“Do you liiike it?” 

“All things considered it could’ve been worse. I could’ve had to match with you.”

“Hey! We would have been the cutest.”

Nico cleared his throat, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Well? Go put it on!” Will said ushering him to the door.

Nico rolled his eyes, heading towards the bathroom. “Don’t touch anything!” he called out.

___________

Nico didn’t want to admit it, but being wrapped in what was essentially a fuzzy cat costume had its perks, like being warm and being able to sprawl comfortably out on the floor.

He sat with his back against his bed and helped himself to a hand-full of popcorn as he watched Will fiddle around with the T.V. 

“How did you even get this?” Nico asked as he rummaged around the giant snack bag Will had hauled in.

“Hermes Cabin, where else?”

“I didn’t think you had it in you, Sunshine. I’m impressed.”

Will turned back around, the tips of his ears red, “I can have fun! Look I also got soda even if it’s ridiculously sugar and extremely toxic for your growing body.”

“Please don’t say _growing body_ ever again, as far as I’m concerned I am grown. Also, are you sure carbonated drinks aren’t too risque for you?” 

“Well as long as they aren’t iced, I think that’ll be a bit too wild.”

Nico half-smiled at that, _what a dork_. He stood up, dusting off his onesie, “Do you need help?”

“Nope! Nope it’s good,” he said just as the Disney intro played.“Now, I know you watched a few disney movies, but there’s no harm in rewatching a few classics!”

Nico sat back down, trying to get comfortable as the title began to play. Tangled the screen read; he had heard of it before, but definitely hadn’t watched it. 

Will quickly scrambled over and sat right next to him. Their shoulders were definitely pressed against each other, but Will didn’t seem bothered. Nico let out a soft exhale as he watched Will’s eyes brighten as the beginning of the film played.

___________

Tangled was pretty good, the characters were definitely likeable and the songs were alright, Flynn Rider also made for some seriously good eye-candy. But, what made it better was watching it with Will cause he would sing along horrendously off-key despite being a child of Apollo which was endearing and incredibly hilarious. Will was also an adorable sap cause he was totally teary-eyed at the lantern scene and Nico hated to admit it, but the ‘you were my new dream’ scene made him quite emotional. Tangled was definitely up there with his favorite Disney movies now.

“So...what’s next,” he asked, opening another bag of gummy bears as the credits continued to roll down the screen.

“Well, since I picked Tangled I figured you should pick the next movie. And Percy told me you uh… liked horror, so I bribed the Stolls for a few CDs.” He dragged over another one of his tote bags. 

“Do you even like horror though?” Nico questioned, offering Will a gummy bear.

“Uhh..no?” He mumbled as he accepted the offering.

Nico pressed down a smile, “then we don’t have to watch it, idiot.” He flicked Will on the side of the head, “besides I have a better idea.”

He stood up shaking out his legs and walked to his bed-side table. He hadn’t done this in a very long time, it reminded him of the past, but he felt ready. 

“Do you want to play Mythomagic?”

Will smiled, “You used to be obsessed with it, huh?”

“How’d you know?” Nico sat back down in front of Will, pushing away the stray blankets and pillows.

“I have it somewhere in my vast Nico information vault,” Will said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“That sounds horrifying,” he said as he spread them out on the floor. “Here are the rules, okay?”

___________

It was now almost midnight and they were on their seventh round of Mythomagic, which had a score of 6-1 (even though Nico totally let Will beat him). 

Will yawned, his nose scrunching, “Whaddya wanna do now?”

“You look tired,” Nico said, gathering all the cards up. 

“Hmm.”

“We can go to bed you know, we don’t have to stay up.”  
  


“Yeah, but it’s your first sleepover party, we _have_ to stay up,” Will said as his head bobbed.

“I thought this was supposed to be for strictly medical purposes, Solace.”

Will rolled his eyes and smiled. “I just don’t want you to have a sucky slumber-party.”

It couldn’t be sucky with you, Nico thought, but he didn’t say that. Instead he said, “I’m having a grand time and it would be grander if we just went to bed without you nodding off every two seconds.”

“What a little-sweetie you are!” he said reaching for Nico’s cheeks.

Nico ducked and scowled, secretly trying not to smile. “Alright, alright lets go to bed.” He stood up, offering Will a hand and ignoring the skeletal butterflies when he accepted it. 

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth!” Will called as they left for the bathrooms.

___________

After they got ready for bed they met in front of the T.V again.

“So.. how do you want to do this?” Will asked.

“Take Hazel’s bed?”

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Will gently reminded him. “You’re traveling distances as small as a foot.”

Nico blushed in their sleepy states, they really had only two options. “Floor or my bed?”

Will’s cheeks were dusted with red, but he still smiled another dopey grin and said, “Bed, duh.” He cannon-balled into Nico’s bed landing on the soft black blankets. 

Nico sighed and crawled in next to him, still a good distance away from Will so that he was somewhat pressed to his nightstand.

“I think you need to be closer,” Will whispered. “I don’t bite you know.”

“I’m close enough.”

Will was quiet for two pauses finding Nico’s fingers in the dark. “Cuddles?” he whispered, squeezing Nico’s hand.

  
“Fuck off,” Nico whispered back, before turning towards Will so that his head grazed Will’s shoulders.

  
  
He could hear Will’s smiling when he whispered, “Good night, Nico.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, look at me updating on random days lol. also i had to split a chapter, so the fic in now in five parts, so there will be one more part after this!! 
> 
> as alway constructive criticism is welcome as i am very new to fic writing and this is my first multi-chaptered fic!
> 
> toodles!!
> 
> (p.s- i love getting comments, it makes me want to write faster 🥺)


	5. oh i like you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He rolled back over, squinting his eyes in the morning light, might as well face the demon now.
> 
> Will grinned widely, “Good morning.” The demon was very pretty.
> 
> (Basically, Will Solace likes guys and Nico di Angelo likes Will Solace.)

Nico woke up to humming. He blinked, right Will slept over.

He was cocooned in his arms, his cheek pressed flat against Will’s chest. Will continued to hum, something off-key with a sweet melody. Nico could hear his heartbeat echo with the song. It was oddly beautiful in Nico’s sleepy haze.

“I can feel you blinking,” Will said, his morning voice scratchy and hoarse.

“Shhh, I’m asleep” he whispered, turning around on Will’s chest. Stupid muscles made it hard to get comfortable. 

“Nicoo.” Will poked Nico in the head and then blew in his ear. 

Nico blushed as he realized he was literally on top of Will and said Will was very _clearly_ awake. He rolled back over, squinting his eyes in the morning light, might as well face the demon now.

Will grinned widely, “Good morning.” The demon was very pretty.

“It’s too early for this,” Nico mumbled, pressing his palm to Will's face, pushing his lovely, smiley face away. 

What he didn’t expect was Will to kiss his palm. Nico’s eyes widened and he felt his cheeks heat up again.

“Aww, you’re so cute,” Will cooed as Nico whiplashed to hide his burning face.

This is the worst day of my life, Nico thought.

“Well, I’d say it’s been the best day of mine.” 

Shit, he said that out loud.

“Did you know you sleep-talk?” Will mused.

Nico chewed the inside of his lip. Fuck, what did he say? He didn’t get much time to respond or analyze, because there was a sharp rap at the door. 

“Are y’all DECENT?” a suggestive-toned voice called out.

Nico felt his eyes widen and he quickly squirmed out of Will’s surprisingly strong grip and rolled off him. Will, however, took a much slower pace as he rolled his eyes and eventually sat up and stretched his stupidly long limbs. Nico ducked narrowly avoiding an elbow to the eye.

“Kayla, what do you want?” he yelled back.

“It’s 9 o'clock dummy, your shift in the infirmary starts.”

“Oh shi-” Will shot up. “I’m coming!” he grabbed his things off the floor, shoving things into his bags randomly. And right as he was about to turn the handle to leave the cabin, he stopped and ran back to Nico. “Bye,” he whispered and then he pressed his lips to Nico’s cheek and Nico was fairly sure he was about to pass out.

He felt his mouth fall open in shock as Will quickly ran out of his cabin.

Will Solace just kissed him. It was on his cheek, but still Will _freaking_ Solace kissed him.

Nico couldn’t help it; he bust out laughing. This was ridiculous, his life was ridiculous. He was ridiculous, because he just got kissed by a pretty, pretty, pretty boy that was far too good for him. 

This was definitely too much for his hazy morning brain, he settled under his covers rolling over to the warm spot abandoned by Will. 

As he fell asleep, he dreamed of kisses and warmth.

___________

When he woke up again, it was well past breakfast and he had scrambled to the rest of his activities. He was at the sword arena now, sparring with an Ares camper. 

He ducked a quick blow and rolled to his side. He wasn’t on his best today, which was sort of understandable because he had just spent two days passed out and also because a certain son of Apollo was running through his head.

His thoughts kept circling back to this morning, he wondered what he sleep-said to Will and if that was what gifted him a kiss. He hoped it wasn’t embarrassing, but knowing his tendency for awkwardness he probably said something really fucking weird or creepy. 

He sighed, as the camper left him pressed to the arena floor. Today was not his day, but he was going down without a fight. He swung his body around, reached for his sword and expertly disarmed the camper. He should really get better at names, he thought smiling wolfishly when the Ares camper reluctantly mumbled a “mercy.”

___________

It was now almost dinner and Nico had just finished showering. There was a possibility that he may see Will tonight, but that was totally not the reason he was getting dressed. Nope, he just uh… wanted to look nice for no apparent reason. 

He pushed back his wet hair, he never really knew what to do with it. It was too long to look nice, so he just finger combed it back and put on his favorite black ensemble. It would have to do, not like Will had a fashion sense. He bit back a smile thinking of the flying squirrel onesie. What a lovable dork.

He stared at his reflection for another minute and then gave up fiddling, it would just have to do. And then he promptly left, leaving the cabin door swinging behind him. 

___________

And to his dismay, Will wasn’t at dinner. Nope, there was just a glaringly noticeable empty seat at the Apollo table. And no, Nico was definitely not affected by it. He sighed and stood up, scraping the rest of his dinner into the fire as he left.

Nico wasn’t one for confrontation, no he was someone who would rather just ignore this into disappearance. But, Will Solace wasn’t ignorable, he was brilliantly and beautifully noticeable and Nico simply had to do something about.

So, he ended up in front of the infirmary. And after a minute of reassuring himself, he hesitantly creaked open the door coming face to face with Kayla.

“AH!” he yelped, jumping back.

Kayla rolled her eyes, blowing a bubble with her gum. “Oh, get over yourself!” She paused, opening the door a little wider, “And if you’re looking for Will, he’s at the lake,” she said, letting the door fall shut between them.

Well, that was efficient, he thought as he made his way to the lake.

It was close to the infirmary, but far enough to be quiet and calming. Nico didn’t go to the lake very often, but maybe he should. His mouth hung open as he took in the beautiful colors stretched across the sky and reflected in the waters. 

He walked across the wooden pathway leading to the edge of the water. Will sat with his back facing Nico, his eyes staring right at the sky.

“It’s beautiful,” Nico said, sitting next to him.

Will smiled and turned to him. “I’m surprised to find you here.”

“At the lake?”

“No, dimwit. I’m surprised you came to me,” Will said, flicking the side of Nico’s head.

Nico fell silent, _what were you supposed to say to that_. He took a deep breath, “Why?”

Will turned to him, half his face lit in the beautiful colors and the other half shadowed. “Because, you don’t seek things. You wait for them.”

“Maybe, I didn’t want to wait anymore,” Nico whispered.

“Maybe.” Will was facing the sky again.

“For- for a long time I thought I was selfish to seek comfort. To ask people to give me parts of them. And then I got used to being alone and I thought I didn’t need any of that.” He sighed, “But I did- for the first time I needed someone. I couldn’t be alone.”

“Are you?” Will reached over and squeezed his hand, “Are you alone now?”

Nico stopped, “No. I guess I’m not.” He blinked away tears.

“Good. You shouldn’t have to be alone.” Will turned to him, so that he was looking at Nico square in the eyes. “Do you know what you said?”

“When I was sleep-talking?”

“Yup. You- you said that you’re safe now.” Will laid his other hand over Nico’s, so that his hand was wrapped in warmth. “What does that mean?”

Nico raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile. He didn’t think he would have to spell it out for him. “ _You_ make me feel safe, not so alone.” 

Will looked at him with wide open eyes and bright cheeks, Nico felt himself smile wide as he leaned over and kissed Will’s cheek. “And I’m really thankful for that. For you.”

“Can I kiss you?” Will asked breathlessly and Nico could only manage a simple nod, before Will’s lips collided with his.

Will Solace tasted like oranges and sunflowers, Nico thought. He cautiously ran his fingers through Will’s blonde curls as he deepened the kiss and Nico _totally_ didn’t gasp when Will delicately wrapped his arms around his waist. 

Nico pulled away, resting his forehead against Will’s. They were so impossibly close and he could count every freckle sprayed across Will’s cheeks. 

“Hi.”

Nico smiled widely, “Hi.”

“You know, I talked to Chiron,” he said, pulling Nico closer to him for a hug. Nico automatically shifted so he could wrap his arms around Will.

“Hmm.”

“I think our _daily_ sleepovers are about to get a lot more fun,” he said. And Nico didn’t have to see Will’s face to know he was wiggling his eyebrows.

He rolled his eyes, resting his cheek on Will’s shoulder. “You’re such a dork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i'm finally done! ahh, i loved writing this and i hoped you liked reading it! 🥺  
> also i'm thinking about doing a few scences from Will's perspective, so lmk if that's a good idea!
> 
> as alway constructive criticism is welcome as i am very new to fic writing and this is my first multi-chaptered fic!
> 
> toodles!!
> 
> (p.s- it's my birthday today lol and yea i wanted to finish this on my b-day)

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this took forever to get it to where i decently liked it, so i hope you enjoyed. i'll try to update at least once a week (either on mondays or tuesdays)  
> constructive criticism is welcome as i am very new to fic writing and this is my first multi-chaptered fic!
> 
> toodles! <3


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